Asian century: Cooperation or conflict?

C P BHAMBHRI, Jul 24, 2010, 05.05am IST

Statesmen, public policymakers and transnational financial institutions and reputed credit rating and fund-giving agencies of the advanced capitalist countries are asserting that the erstwhile underdeveloped Asia has left behind its status of the Third World. The 21st century has been heralded as the age of Asia that is marching forward, and the rate of economic growth of emerging Asian giants like China and India is much more than that of the US and EU. A few important facts can be mentioned to substantiate the argument that the Western capitalist countries are looking at Asia much more closely.

First, General Motors Corp managing director stated on July 5, 2010, that 'We know that to remain a global leader, we have to maintain our commitment to expanding GM's presence and success in critical markets such as India and China'.

Second, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank had always been acting as 'watchdogs' of the fate of Asian economies, and in the first decade of the 21st century, these two institutions have become quite euphoric about the rate of economic growth and bright future of Asia. The IMF has projected 9.4% growth for India during January-December, and it is second only to China's at 10.5%. The IMF has projected that the world's rate of growth during 2010 may be 4.6% and global economies have been pulled out of the grand recession of 2008 because China and India have performed quite well.

Third, the erstwhile Asian markets that were completely dependent for investments and aid for trade on the Western capitalist countries have now become global players and they are not only making investments in the US and European markets, but are also actively engaged in acquisitions of Western companies. Thus, it has become appropriate to describe the present situation as being Asia's century. It has led even World Bank president Robert Zoellick to declare that '2009 saw the end of what was known as the Third World'.

The other perspective is that Asians are plagued with serious domestic challenges of the eradication of mass poverty. Not only China and India, but many Asian countries such as Thailand, Pakistan, Myanmar, Nepal et al are tied down with violent domestic social challenges, and in many Asian countries, social unrest has spread to an extent that the institutional authority of the state is under siege.

The majority of the nation-states of Asia still have to establish their legal authority over their socially-discontented and volatile sections. If on the one hand, emerging Asian countries are facing serious challenges arising out of conflicts and acute social divisions within their own societies, on the other, the whole continent of Asia is engaged in inter-state bilateral and multilateral disputes that have many a time led to actual war or war-like situations.